Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Wow, thats a lot if eggs shad!

And can I ask a cat question. ?
My chickens always make a typical and recognisable sound if they spot a cat. Completely different than the egg song or the ‘I want feed’ begging.
The chickens often spot a cat before I do. So if I hear them making this sound I look around to see where the cat is.
Today it took me a few minutes to figure it out. But finally I found one of the neighbours cat between the high plants lurking and luring. Like a lion who wants to ambush a gazelle. The chickens make this ‘I spotted a cat’ sound , step away a little, but don’t really bother to back off.

Who recognises this? Or experiences something similar?
View attachment 3175344
Tax for asking.

great observation! I think we have the same here, but I'll try to confirm as opportunity arises. The sound is like growling. I have seen hens standing their ground staring at it and cocks advancing towards a neighbour's cat when it's in our garden. I have no doubt that the 2 broodies here at the moment would scream blue murder and give it hell if it came near their chicks!

 

[MaryJanet]

I do the same. Most years it covers my costs completely. How much do you ask? I charge £1.50 per carton of 6. To continue covering costs, I think I'll have to put the price up next year, as a sack of grain has risen from £8 for 25kg when I started in 2017, to over £11 for 20kg now

That's a huge price rise!

 

[Perris]

That's a huge price rise!

I know, shocking. Most of it in the last few months; it had crept up to £9.25 with a small retreat when they shrunk the sacks by 20% back in 2018 or thereabouts, but jumped a month or so ago. They blame the war in Ukraine for raising global wheat prices, but UK is almost self-sufficient in wheat and apparently 70% of it goes into animal feed, so I think there's some profiteering going on.

 

[BDutch]

I do the same. Most years it covers my costs completely. How much do you ask? I charge £1.50 per carton of 6. To continue covering costs, I think I'll have to put the price up next year, as a sack of grain has risen from £8 for 25kg when I started in 2017, to over £11 for 20kg now

You really should rise you’re prise. Here people pay € 2,40 for 6 eggs with in/outside space. And € 3,00 for 6 organic eggs.

 

[ManueB]

I didn't get much done. Too busy chatting to three lots of allotment holders.
This lot have been very kind to me and say the place is a lot better since I've been going there. Nice to be appreciated.
I did get Henry's legs done, and the Golden Comet with the SLM. Oh and cleaned out the coops, and the water of course, and collected the eggs. I gave six to one of the allotment holders (part of my egg share I might add). I sell around two dozen a week now which helps with the cost of the feed and stuff I buy.
I leave C half a dozen a day nicley wrapped for C to collect in the mornings. The rest it seems are now mine. The hens are laying around 100 per week atm.
View attachment 3175303
Getting the geese shut in for the night.
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That's a lot of eggs! What do you do with the rest, feed it all back to the chicken ?

Having good relationships with some of the allotment holders is nice and could turn out to be useful , it's certainly not a waste of time!
The geese stay out on their own or do you take them out with the chickens ?

 

[BDutch]

I know, shocking. Most of it in the last few months; it had crept up to £9.25 with a small retreat when they shrunk the sacks by 20% back in 2018 or thereabouts, but jumped a month or so ago. They blame the war in Ukraine for raising global wheat prices, but UK is almost self-sufficient in wheat and apparently 70% of it goes into animal feed, so I think there's some profiteering going on.

Yes. You are right about this. The international traders saw an opportunity to rise prices. And make huge profits now.

 

[ManueB]

Time to inform the gendarme

I could answer with quite a few stories...that would completely sidetrack me from chickens ! To sum it up it's not a helpful solution when you live in a village with 100 inhabitants, two third of which are related to each others even if it goes back to the 19th century and where everyone know everyone and everything.

One question, do you guys ever just throw poo filled shavings directly in a garden bed? I was thinking at the end of growing season just covering all the beds with uncomposted coop litter.

Like others I cover a zone of the garden directly after the last crop and throughout winter, it can be mixed with shavings if we have enough or hay. However this winter when we had almost no rain or snow it didn't seem to break down as nicely. I think some water is required for the poop and bedding to decompose.

Wow, thats a lot if eggs shad!

And can I ask a cat question. ?
My chickens always make a typical and recognisable sound if they spot a cat. Completely different than the egg song or the ‘I want feed’ begging.
The chickens often spot a cat before I do. So if I hear them making this sound I look around to see where the cat is.
Today it took me a few minutes to figure it out. But finally I found one of the neighbours cat between the high plants lurking and luring. Like a lion who wants to ambush a gazelle. The chickens make this ‘I spotted a cat’ sound , step away a little, but don’t really bother to back off.

Who recognises this? Or experiences something similar?
View attachment 3175344
Tax for asking.

So, my chickens don't make any noise for cats, they're too used too them.
However I was just telling my partner yesterday that I can now tell before hearing or seeing it that the Easy Jet Paris-Nice airplane shuttle is flying right above us, because they have a very specific sound for it . And they see it way before I do!

I know, shocking. Most of it in the last few months; it had crept up to £9.25 with a small retreat when they shrunk the sacks by 20% back in 2018 or thereabouts, but jumped a month or so ago. They blame the war in Ukraine for raising global wheat prices, but UK is almost self-sufficient in wheat and apparently 70% of it goes into animal feed, so I think there's some profiteering going on.

What we are told here where we are also almost self sufficient for wheat, is that they are taking into account the price of gaz, and that there is a problem for the fertilizer supply as they mainly came from Russia.
But of course the solution is not going toward more organic agriculture but to cultivate more lands and put more subventions into high production agriculture...

 

[ManueB]

Tax. I think this look means she's definitely taken over my table as her territory.

Théo attacked my hand this morning. I think I got too near his head. Usually he crowes when he wants to remind me the hens are his.

 

[Perris]

Tax. I think this look means she's definitely taken over my table as her territory.
View attachment 3175651

Théo attacked my hand this morning. I think I got too near his head. Usually he crowes when he wants to remind me the hens are his.
View attachment 3175652

I hope you've entered this is in the crowing rooster competition! It's a fabulous photo

 

[BDutch]

Tax. I think this look means she's definitely taken over my table as her territory.
View attachment 3175651

Théo attacked my hand this morning. I think I got too near his head. Usually he crowes when he wants to remind me the hens are his.

And you should submit this one for the caption contests here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...on-contest-photo-submission-thread-5.1504640/